Longmont lands new ladder truck at bargain price

In late 2012, one fire truck was deactivated because numerous repair issues caused it to fail its inspection. The department deemed the 23-year-old truck to be no longer fit for use, and the truck recently was sold at auction.

.Needing to replace one of the city's two aerial trucks (the fire trucks with the ladders on them), Fire Department Fleet Manager Bruce Maysilles discovered a 2011 aerial truck that meets all necessary specifications for the department that was being put up for sale by the manufacturer. The department's gear is all built around the DD13 Detroit diesel engine, and luckily, the truck for sale is equipped with this type of engine.

The cost of the truck, just more than $960,000, is significantly less than a new stock truck, which would run slightly north of $1 million. Some minor changes will need to be made to the truck to better meet the needs of the fire department at an additional cost. These changes are mostly minor tweaks to get the truck up to department standards, and Maysilles estimates that they will cost less than $50,000. Changes would need to be made to any truck that is bought. The department will use a purchasing code exception to save more than $75,000 for the new truck.

Normally, purchases are made through a bidding process; however, because the truck was available for only a limited time at a cheaper price than a new one, an exception was permitted.

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Longmont has 11 fire trucks, including three reserves. The new truck will be one of two aerials, and the others are pumpers, meaning that they are standard fire trucks without ladders.

Maysilles says that there is no date set for the truck to become available for use; however, he expects the truck to be in Longmont sometime in April for its final acceptance tests. The new vehicle will become a front-line truck for 10 years before it becomes a reserve truck. The total life of an aerial truck is 20 years, with half that time serving as a front line vehicle and half serving as a reserve.